Most of us recognise the noise - the incessant whirring of an overworked laptop fan, struggling to keep a computer cool. You might put it down to old age, assuming that notebooks always get noisier and hotter until, eventually, they just stop working.That doesn't have to be the case though. When your laptop is starting to get on a bit, overheating and shutting down on its own, it might not be worn out - it might just be dirty.However clean you keep the outside of your notebook, dust inevitably gets sucked into fans, crumbs fall into keyboards and fluff gets into vents.We have already looked at how to clean the inside of your desktop computer to keep it running smoothly. You can do the same to your laptop, but it's a much more complicated job, requiring a good deal of technical confidence and steady nerves.To help you get started, we've put together a few tips on tearing down and cleaning the inside of your mobile machine.Laptop model designs vary considerably. You can broadly assume that machines in the same range will disassemble in the same way, but that's no guarantee.

Peculiarities in design can arise due to specific configurations.In some cases you may be able to access the internal parts you need to clean through panels on the bottom of the case. For example, if you can get to the CPU, heatsink and fan without having to take apart your machine, then the cleaning process will be much shorter, easier and less likely to end in tears.ac duct cleaning nycFlip your notebook over and have a good look right now. vacuum cleaner retailers nzSee if you can identify the panels. best vacuum cleaner for heavy pet hairThere are likely to be access panels for RAM, your hard drive and optical drives and, if you're lucky, the main board.best way to clean infant car seat straps

If motherboard access isn't offered here, you may need to take a deep breath and partially dismantle the notebook.As we said, laptop assembly varies between brands and models, but there are two main ways to get into most notebooks - through the top or through the bottom.If your machine is accessed from the bottom, you're in luck. These machines are often easier to disassemble - at least enough to access the bits that you'll need to clean. best mop and cleaner hardwood floorsIf your laptop has to be cracked open from the top down, you'll generally have to start by removing the keyboard.hvac duct cleaning nycOur advice is never to go blundering in. You should always start your teardown routine by sourcing and reading a manual carefully. The document we're talking about here is a different one to the user manual that came in your laptop box.

It's called a service manual or maintenance manual. How easy it is to get hold of will depend on your manufacturer. Try visiting your notebook manufacturer's website first, and look under 'Support' for maintenance documents. If that fails, try Repair4Laptop, which is a free database with links to service manuals and teardown guides for hundreds of machines.You've got a laptop that needs cleaning and a service manual. Now what you need are the right tools to start the job. We'll divide these into case-opening tools and cleaning tools for convenience. You'll need a set of electrical screwdrivers to handle the small Philips and flat-head screws found in notebook cases.If you have a Dell or Apple notebook, you may also need to find a set of TORX screwdrivers. A search on Maplin's website reveals you shouldn't have to pay much more than a fiver per set.A plastic putty knife or guitar plectrum is a handy thing to have when you're opening notebooks. You can use it to pry open seams held together by plastic clips.

Steve Jobs wanted Sony VAIO laptos to run OS X, according to Sony's former president Kunitake Ando. Ando revealed that in 2001, Jobs proposed a partnership between Sony and Apple. Ando told Japanese journalist and long-time Apple fan, Noboyuki Hayashi, that Jobs even showed him a VAIO running OS X after the two executives finished up a round of golf in Hawaii. Although Jobs was aggressively targeting Mac clones at the time, he said that he would make an exception for Sony if the company would agree to work with Apple. "Steve Jobs and another Apple executive were waiting for us at the end of the golf course holding VAIO running Mac OS," Ando recalls, but it just wasn't the right time. Sony's partnership with Microsoft was blooming at the time as Windows PC sales continued to rise. Although the two executives were never able to work together on a project, Ando says that Jobs greatly influenced his thinking and many of the most important actions he took while he was president at Sony.

"Steve Jobs always had opinion on each of our products," Ando said. "When we launched PSP [PlayStation Protable], he complained, [asking] why we were still using discs. He [said] discs are so out-of-date." Sony proceeded to take his advice and took the discs out of the equation. In another instance, Jobs suggested that Sony should add a GPS to its cameras. Ando claims that Jobs said that "if this thing had a built-in GPS, I [could] record everything that happens to my life."  Soon after, Sony did incorporate a GPS into its cameras. Although the friendship between the two executives may seem unlikely to die-hard Apple fans and Sony lovers alike, Ando explained that things were different then. The tech industry was much smaller and relationships between executives were much more open. "Back in our time, the top executives always talked directly to each other. Sony executives had that in their culture. For example, when we have decided to launch a new PC products which later becomes VAIO, we called and visited Bill Gates (of Microsoft) , Andy Grove (of Intel) and Apple's headquarter in Cupertino and talked" said Ando.